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Review: Legion/Fingers Crossed Split 7″

Birmingham Alabama’s Legion have teamed up with Fingers Crossed from Tennessee for a fast paced and very aggressive split 7inch. I remember playing with Legion a while back and later catching them on tour when we rolled through Birmingham and they were really awesome to see both times. They’re very loud and very intense live, this is my first time however hearing Fingers Crossed and they are just as pleasing to the ears. I was very excited to get a record in the mail of a band that I have actually seen before live and was into, not often does this happen when you receive records to review.

Side A starts off with Legion, and all of the songs are under the 1:30 mark which is pretty remarkable considering that it is four songs. There is a lot of room left over on this record but the songs do make an impression and that’s not always easy to do with such short song structures. The opening track “No Faith” is nothing short of heavy, noisy, and dirty and its a good way to start off a record. Their sound reminds me a lot of His Hero Is Gone and Moutheater as well. The vocals have a lot of growl to them and the guitar work going on behind his vocals complements them. The rest of this side picks up a lot faster and its over before you even know it. That’s the only real downside to this, but there is nothing wrong with going back to press play over again or re-adjusting the needle.

Side B features two tracks from Fingers Crossed, I was a little unsure on how this would hold up to side A considering I have never heard these guys before, but the heaviness is perceptible and there are some sonic differences for sure. Still fast paced but a little more sludgier, and the songs are over 1:30 on this side so it probably adds up to about the same as side A. Some of the riffs on the first track (“The Ugly Truth”) remind me a lot of some older Syracuse bands like The Funeral and Another Victim, which is pretty cool but played a little differently. The second song “Pressing Matters” is a lot more thrashy and upbeat but then kicks in at the end with a mid tempo part with a lead over top.

Overall this is a pretty solid split 7in and I was excited to get this in the mail. Both bands are different from each other (Fingers Crossed sounding more like a hardcore band and Legion having a more metal/crust sound to them) but both bands go hand in hand on this split. Dead End Records has been around for the past few years I believe now, having a few releases under their belt. Don’t be afraid to check them out and keep your eyes peeled for what they have coming out in the near future as well as both Legion and Fingers Crossed.